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A slight flush to his cheeks told her what she needed to know before he said the words. “Yes. That was the plan. I couldn’t go through with it.”

“So you left JT to handle the whole thing?”

“JT loved the company. I did not. It wasn’t my thing. I get to have a life of my own.”

“Then have it, Mr. Malone, and stop trying to force your brother into the same mold your parents tried to force you into. He’s perfectly capable of following my orders. He’s competent to do this job. Stop trying to treat him like he needs protection.”

“He does,” Michael insisted.

“That’s what I’m here for. If you need me to, I’ll send you my dossier.”

He frowned. “This is the part where I really wish I could bounce that right back at you, but the truth is I didn’t study you. I trusted Ian and Damon.”

She’d rather thought that was the case. “Tell me why you weren’t worried about your father, but you’re terrified for your brother.”

“Because my father would let you do your job. My father would understand that you’re here to protect him. My brother is a great guy, but he’s got a real thing about protecting women.”

“He assures me he’ll be fine hiding behind me if the bullets start to fly.”

Michael shook his head. “He won’t. He’ll jump right in front of you. He’ll tell you what you want to hear. Hell, he might even believe it, but I know him. You’re sleeping with him, right?”

“I didn’t know who he was when I went up to his room that first night,” she began.

Michael held up his hands as if conceding. “Hey, no judgment here. You’re both adults. But you have to know he…” He stopped himself. “JT isn’t the kind of man who has a lot of one-night stands. I often joke that he’s got a biological clock and it’s ticking hard. He can get in deep really fast. Another reason to take me instead.”

Except it could truly hurt JT if she asked him to do it. And there were other problems with that scenario. “You don’t know the business the way he does. You might be able to pretend to be him in a casual way, but what happens when they get down to numbers?”

“I can work my way through it,” Michael insisted.

“I will take care of him.”

“He might not let you.” Michael took a deep breath and seemed to come to a decision. “Look, we had this friend growing up. Her name was Dana.”

Yes, she’d heard the name before. JT hadn’t mentioned her again. They’d talked about a lot of things over the days they’d spent together, but until earlier this evening neither had mentioned prior relationships. She’d been so curious aboutDana since the name had been said with deep sorrow. “He loved her?”

“Not exactly, though I think he always figured they would get married one day. She was our father’s best friend’s daughter. We grew up with her. Our parents always talked about Dana marrying one of us and joining our families. JT thought it would be him. I don’t think he ever loved her. Not in an in-love way, but they were close when they were kids.”

She got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. There could only be one reason for that aching sorrow she’d heard in JT’s voice. “She’s not around anymore, is she?”

“She was a lot like me. I know I seem hard on my brother, but I know what I did hurt him. Dana rebelled, too. She went a little wild and ended up marrying someone she shouldn’t have. She went missing when we were in college. We’ve never found her, and we’ve had the best in the business look. It was like she disappeared off the face of the earth. It affected JT. It affected me, too, but I accepted long ago that I can’t control the world around me. JT hasn’t learned that lesson. He didn’t have to because he does control his world.”

“That’s not fair. He’s had to because he didn’t have anyone to lean on. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not blaming you for the choices you’ve made, but you left him. I suspect up until that moment you did almost everything together. Did you ever talk to him about the fact that all that responsibility, all that destiny, suffocated you?”

“He wouldn’t have understood,” Michael insisted. “He wanted it. He wanted everything our parents had planned for us. He would have tried to stop me, and I couldn’t let that happen. I had to break free. I had to find out who I was without the Malone name behind me.”

“Then you should understand how he feels. He needs to know he can do this. If you force him out, I think you’ll hurt your relationship with him.”

“But your job would be far easier with me.” His eyes narrowed. “Unless there’s a reason you specifically want JT on this. Are you looking to spend more time with him?”

“I think he’s the best man for the job.” She wasn’t about to let Michael put her in a corner. “I think I can handle him. Now that I know what will worry him, I’ll manage him better. I appreciate that information. If you’re questioning whether or not I’ll let some attraction to your brother mess with this op…”

He shook his head. “No. I know you wouldn’t do that. Again, I trust our bosses. But you like him. You like JT.”

She was about to protest that liking JT Malone didn’t matter when a feminine voice broke her concentration.

“I would hope she likes JT if she’s planning on marrying him.” Deanna stood right behind Michael, eyeing them both like she wasn’t sure what she’d walked up on.

Well, it proved that she wasn’t entirely on her game since normally she would never break cover unless she was completely alone. “Michael was making fun of his brother. He seems to do that a lot.”